Worth the Ride
by strawberry.sparkle
Summary: Connie Elizabeth Montez and Lily Oxford Bolton are the twin daughters of none other than Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. Until now, they haven't met each other. When Troy and Gabriella bump into each other, little do they know what's in store for them!
1. Unexpected

**Helloooo! If you've read some of my previous work, then you'll see that I said that I'm not really into writing full stories. **_**But**_**….I'm going to give it a try! So this is my first attempt at a multi-chaptered story! Actually, this my second attempt, but I deleted my first one, cause it sucked. Big time. But getting back on track, I don't know how long this story is going to be, so I guess I'll find out when I write it! Before I get to the story, I just wanted to let you know that is a mixed-up version of The Parent Trap but it's not gonna follow that storyline. So read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical, or the song 'Positivity' by Ashley Tisdale.**

* * *

**Worth the Ride**

**Chapter 1 : Unexpected**

* * *

_A 22 - year old Gabriella Montez yawned. _

"_I still can't believe we're having twins!" she said happily._

_Troy smiled at his wife. "Twin girls, to be exact," he told her._

"_I know!" she exclaimed._

"_Now comes the hard part. Naming them." Troy sighed._

"_Troy, they're not born yet."_

"_But they will be in a couple months," he argued._

_Gabriella gave him a look, as if to say 'Do not argue with me.' Suddenly, she then said, "Ok. I really want to include my grammy's name in one of their names."_

_You would think that Troy would be shocked at Gabriella's sudden change of heart, but after living through this for over six months, he really wasn't anymore. So he replied,_

"_You know, I've always wanted to include my grandma's name, too. Your grammy's name is Connie, correct?"_

_Gabriella nodded._

"_Mines is Elizabeth. How about…Elizabeth Connie? Nah. How bout Connie Elizabeth for one?"_

" _Okeydokey," Gabriella replied. "What's your favorite flower, Troy?"_

_Troy wasn't surprised at her randomness. "Uh….Lilies probably. Or roses."_

"_We'll go with Lily. How about that for a first name?"_

_Troy thought about it. "Lily Bolton. I like it. Middle name?"_

"_Oxford. It's where we went to school together."_

_Troy looked at Gabriella strangely. "Lily Oxford? Lily Bolton. Lily Oxford Bolton. Hmm. Not bad," he told her. You know, it actually sounds pretty good."_

"_Of course it does," Gabriella said, in an as-a-matter-of-factly way. "Now, its 10:00, and I need some sleep. You coming?" she asked Troy._

"_Of course! But first, I need one thing," he replied._

"_And what would that be?"_

"_A kiss."_

_Gabriella giggled and leaned in._

**x**

_It was 2 years later. _

_Gabriella and Troy stood facing each other, Troy's bags already packed. _

"_Look Troy. You do what you want to do. If you want to become a basketball player for the Arizona Suns, you do that. But I've lived in Albuquerque since junior year, except when we went to Oxford together. This is my hometown now. I don't want to move, and I don't plan to." Gabriella bit her lip, trying to fight back her tears. She was mad at Troy for wanting the job, but she made her voice soften as she said "I love you Troy. I really, really do. But I have a great job here. I don't want to leave. I know you have to. And I'll miss you." With difficulty she then said something she knew she had to, as much as she didn't want to. "Take one of the twins. And take good care of her."_

_Troy looked at her sadly. He took his baby girl, who was sound asleep. "I'll do my best," he told Gabriella. _

_As he took his bags to the car, Gabriella held her baby girl for what she hoped wasn't the last time. Troy returned, to take his child._

_Gabriella kissed her baby on the forehead, and told her, "I love you Lily. Don't you ever forget that, ok?" She gave her to Troy. _

_Both of them walked over to his car, and Troy put Lily in his car seat. He turned to face Gabriella._

"_I'll miss you, too," was all he said, before gently kissing her on the cheek. He got into his car, turned on the engine, and drove away._

_But before he even hit the corner, a single tear had rolled down each of their cheeks._

**x**

_13 years later..._

It was a Friday afternoon in May, and Connie Elizabeth Montez was sick of her mother.

She loved her, really she did. But as of now, she was extremely annoyed with her. Hadn't her mother ever been 14 once? Connie never wore much makeup. She only wore foundation, mascara, blush, and lipgloss, which was what her mother allowed her to wear. But it couldn't hurt to let her wear a little eyeshadow once in a while? Or some lipliner on picture day?

Connie was fourteen, nearly fifteen, and having a boyfriend at that age isn't really something unusual. Yet, her mother never let her go on a date with her boyfriend Connor without at least 2 other friends there. Thank goodness movie theatres are dark, which lets Connie and Connor, who have been dating for a year, spend time together alone, while her friends sit seats away.

Right now, the aforementioned mother was at East High School, where Connie was currently attending, where her mother had attended when she was in high school, and where Gabriella Montez, her mother, was the principal. Some meeting had held her up, and frankly, Connie needed to be away from her mother.

She had finished her homework, and was on her laptop, listening to music. And of course, singing along to it.

"I'm looking at you, you're looking at me, what more could you want, show me some positivity," she sang. She didn't know it, but she had inherited her voice from her mother, who now only sang in the shower.

Tossing her light brown curls over her shoulder, she sighed happily and leaned back.

"I love Fridays," she said to herself. "Especially ones where my mother isn't pestering me to do something I don't really want to."

**x**

Lily Oxford Bolton was not very happy with her dad. At all. Being the captain of the Arizona Suns, he was pretty popular. And at least once a month, he had to leave town to go to somewhere else, and he _always_ left her at her godfather's. Lily's godfather's name was Chad Danforth, he was the assistant captain of the Arizona Suns, and he was Troy Bolton's best friend. Despite the fact that they looked nothing alike, Chad could be Lily's uncle; that was how close they were. However, family doesn't always get along with each other, and Lily being in a rather bad mood, was not very happy with the fact that her father always had to leave for some stupid basketball thing. Unfortunately for Chad, he was the only thing that she could take her anger on.

"Remind me again why he has to go to Alberjerky?" she asked him sarcastically.

Chad sighed. "Lils, it's Albuquerque. And because it's some kind of huge captain conference, where they meet and do….well I'm not exactly sure what they do, but I know it's important."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sure it is," she replied back, once again, sarcastically.

"Look Lily, I know you miss him, and are probably extremely annoyed at him, he has to do what he has to do. And he has to travel," Chad told her.

Lily rolled her eyes again. "He likes writing better anyways. He majored in journalism, I know that for sure. He named me after his college." She yawned. "I'm gonna go to bed now."

"Lil, its nine. You never go to bed before 11."

"Yeah, well, I'm tired. Night Uncle Chad."

Chad, deciding not to argue with a moody teenager, sighed, and said, "Good Night."

Lily went to her room. She heard her cell phone ringing, and saw the screen, which read, '_Dad Cell_.' Ignoring the ringing, Lily sat on her bed, brushing her straight, light brown locks. She sighed with annoyance at the fact that her dad wouldn't let her stay at their own house, even though the Danforth's was like her second home.

Laying on the bed, she pushed the thought away, and soon fell asleep.

**x**

Gabriella Montez sighed. The meeting about some new district-wide computer program was finally over, and she had decided to take some time to walk around the school. She stopped when she got to locker 1038. That had been her locker all those years ago, when she had been high school. Knowing it wouldn't work, she dialed her old combo, and to her surprise it opened. _Of course_, she thought. _They only have 5 different combinations._

Her next surprise was that this wasn't just a random student's locker, it was Connie's locker. She smiled at the neatly arranged books and supplies; organization was just another trait her daughter had inherited from her. Her daughter…..who wasn't having the best time of the month….

Gabriella decided to roam the school a little more. She was the principal, after all. She walked around for a quarter of an hour before coming to a familiar door.

Of course…This was the door to the stairway to the not-so-secret rooftop garden. She opened the door, went up the stairway, to surround herself in the happy memories of her high school years.

**x**

Troy Bolton was ridiculously bored. He desperately wanted to get out of the hotel. He wanted to call his daughter, but realized that she wouldn't pick up anyways, and decided to call her later. Right now, he would have to figure out some other way to end his bored state of mind. The all-captain conference lasted three days, and this was his first. He was back in his hometown, and stuck in a hotel. Without another thought, Troy picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hey Zeke? I need to you come and get me," he told Zeke, who owned the second-most successful bakery in Albuquerque.

"Sure thing. You're here for the all-captain conference, right? What hotel?"

Troy grinned, and told him the directions. "But before I come to your shop to eat all your food, I want you to drop me somewhere else first……

**x**

Troy entered the doors of East High, and sighed happily. He knew the first place where he wanted to go. He raced up and down the halls, and got to the stairway, and opened the door carefully. As he walked up the stairs, he felt that rush of energy that precedes something wonderful happening.

**x**

Gabriella was around the corner when Troy crept into the rooftop garden, so she didn't see him, and he didn't see her. They both stood on either side of the garden, looking down at the grounds of their old, beloved high school. They stayed that way, completely silent, both remembering the memories of their high school years. After a few minutes, each of them spoke. They were talking to themselves, but the other person heard them, too.

"I love this school," both of them said, exactly at the same time.

Both of them froze for a moment before turning around at the same exact moment.

They knew the other's voice. They knew it very well.

"Troy?"

"Gabriella?"

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**Yeah, that sucked, huh? Well, either way, please review!**

**Susmita B-) :D**


	2. Meeting

**Thanks for all the positive feedback! Here's Chapter 2! It's kinda short….sorry about that. Oh well. Now, read on!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical**

* * *

**Worth the Ride **

**Chapter 2: Meeting**

* * *

Troy and Gabriella looked at the person standing in front of them in shock. It was several moments before either of them found their voice.

Troy spoke first. "What the – oh my –what are –Wow."

"Excuse me?" Gabriella asked.

"It's just that –wow. I –I haven't seen you in what, 12 years? And then I visit my secret place in high school, and I see you there! It's just kind of…surprising."

"You do know that prettymuch the whole gang knows about this rooftop garden, right?"

"Yeah –but no one outside the group knows about it." Then, realizing that he was seeing Gabriella, his ex-wife, in the rooftop garden of his old high school, wondered what she was doing here anyways. "Um, Gabriella? If you don't mind me asking….What are you doing here?"

Looking at him pointedly, she replied, "I work here. I was taking a walk."

"Ahh. I bet you teach chemistry," Troy guessed.

" I used to."

"Used to? So what do you do now?"

"I'm the principal."

Troy's eyes widened in shock. "Really? That's amazing! Congratulations!"

"You're here for the all-captain conference, aren't you?" Gabriella asked Troy knowingly.

"I always knew you were smart," Troy told her.

"Troy, they've been talking about it on the news for only, oh I don't know, about a month."

"Really?" Troy asked.

"Mmhmm" Gabriella replied. "Let me guess. You got bored, and decided to get out of the hotel."

Troy stared at her in shock. "How did you -?"

"Troy. I can read you like a book," Gabriella cut him off, smiling.

Troy looked at Gabriella smiling, and couldn't help but smile back.

"So you know what's been going on here? Shar and Zeke got married, as Did Ryan and Kelsi?" she asked.

"Yeah, I do. I got pneumonia during Sharpay and Zeke's wedding, and during Ryan and Kelsi's marriage, my flight got cancelled…and the next one wasn't until the next day. My luck huh?" Troy half-smiled sheepishly.

"Or your bad luck."

Troy laughed. "You always did have a strange sense of humor."

"I know," Gabriella told him. She sighed, then looked at her watch. "Oh no! It's 5:30! I need to get home and make dinner," Gabriella started frantically. "Although in the mood Connie's in, she'll be glad I'm gone," she said, half to herself.

"Connie? Of course, Connie! How is she? I haven't seen her in thirteen years! Can I see her?" Troy blurted out.

"Wow Troy! Um, I would love for you to come see her, but to be frank…she isn't in her best mood right now. Plus she would take it as a shock to see her father for basically the first time. Actually, she doesn't like seeing anyone but her friends these days," Gabriella sighed. "But other than that, she's doing fine. Despite her being hormonal, she's always done really well in school."

"Like mother, like daughters, huh? I swear, your genes rubbed off on them or something; they're so smart. But I know what you mean; it's hard raising a moody teenager," Troy speculated.

"Of course it is. But how do you - oh my goodness, Lily! How is she? Is she ok? Does she eat? Does she do her homework? How well does she do in school?" Gabriella asked, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Great, great. She's a fine young lady. Reminds me of you, in fact. Except for the hair. She has pin-straight hair."

"That's kind of…random. Exact opposite of Connie though. Her curls are just like mine. Her eyes on the other hand. A sparkling blue. They're just like yours," Gabriella told him.

Troy nodded in acknowledgement, and both of them stayed silent for a little while longer before Troy asked the question that was on both of their minds.

"Gabriella…Did you ever tell Connie that she was a twin? Or who her father was? Is?" Troy asked hopefully.

"The twin thing - no. The dad thing - I told her that he had to move away because of his job and that I didn't want to," Gabriella winced. "Are you mad?"

Troy looked shocked. "Mad? Of course not! I told her basically the same thing. I just didn't mention the twin thing, and I told her that her mom didn't want to move."

Gabriella acknowledged this, and nodded. Both stayed silent for a few minutes, before Gabriella spoke. "We have to get them to meet, Troy."

Troy was shocked. "What?"

"Well, if not each other, then at least us. I haven't seen Lily for thirteen years. _Thirteen years_, Troy. Do you know how long that is for a mother? I brought Lily into this world, and I seriously don't like not being able to see her everyday. I love Connie, and I love Lily equally, even though I haven't seen her for 13 years."

"And I haven't seen Connie for 13 years," he said quietly.

After a while, Troy spoke again. "I have an idea."

"Yes?"

"We tell them that we met each other, and that we want to send them to each other. So you could get Lily for a week, and I could take Connie. And we wouldn't have to tell them about the whole 'twin thing.'"

"That's a great idea…except for the fact that our girls have their own bedrooms. And if they switched homes for a week, they're bound to find out that they have a twin," Gabriella said, as always, being sensible.

"We could keep the room's door closed…" Troy said, knowing it wouldn't help.

"That would be great…but they'd be bound to get into the room one way or another."

"We could tell them that we always wanted a teenage daughter. So we made a room…."

Gabriella looked at him thoughtfully. "That one is good….but I'm not sure if it's good enough."

"That's because it isn't good enough," Troy told Gabriella.

"Look Troy. I agree with you about meeting the girls. But it's just not possible," Gabriella mused.

"It might be."

"Maybe. Look, I seriously have to go make dinner. But we'll see if we can come up a solution. I'm assuming you have a new cell phone number?" She half-asked, half stated.

"Nope," he shook his head.

"Ok, then. See you around, Troy" Gabriella said softly and started to go. As she reached the top of the stairs, she turned around, and said thoughtfully, "Did it occur to you that we spilt up thirteen years ago, but yet we just had a decent conversation?"

"Yeah…weird, huh?"

Gabriella laughed, as did Troy.

"Talk to you later," Gabriella said, and left.

As they were alone, they both thought that maybe they - and their daughters - had missed out on a lot over the past thirteen years by not being with each other.

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**Eh, that seemed somewhat unrealistic to me. Oh well. Review, please!**

**Susmita B-) :D**


	3. Twins

**Very long chapter! Well, I guess it's not too long, but it's long for me! Now, I'll leave you to read.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.**

* * *

**Worth the Ride**

**Chapter 3: Twins**

* * *

Connie sat frustrated at the airport, reading. It was summer break, and she was at the Albuquerque International Sunport Airport. She sat there, sincerely annoyed at her mother.

However, she also felt excited. Why? Because, for the very first time, she was going to meet her father.

Her father. The one person that should have been in her life but wasn't. The man that she had never seen. Well, that wasn't true. But she hadn't seen him since she had been two, which was too young to say they had had an actual relationship as father and daughter.

As excited as she was, however, she was, as what was rather frequent these days, annoyed with the woman she had lived with for so long. What had caused her to go partially insane and let her see her father so _suddenly_?

When she had been younger, Connie had often asked who her daddy was. Her mother always told her that he had big dreams in another city, and she didn't want to go with him, even though she loved him. And she had wanted to keep Connie with her, and her dad let her, even though he was sorry to leave her, his daughter.

Her mother told her that her dad's name was Troy Bolton. Connie, having a total dislike for almost every sport, had no clue that he was the captain of a famous sports team.

She looked up from the book, and realized that it was raining. It was raining quite heavily, actually. She bit her lip and hoped that her flight wouldn't be cancelled. As sudden as it was, she really did want to meet her father.

Needing a walk, she got her handbags and went to the bathroom.

**x**

Lily sighed. It was summer. She was supposed to be enjoying the summer with her friends. Going to movies, to the pool, and sleeping in. However, her father was making her go to _Albuquerque._ She was in the plane, right now. Why was she going to Albuquerque? To meet her mother.

Now, Lily totally wanted to meet her mother. She was extremely excited. She had lived without one for pretty much all of her life, and meeting her was going to be really weird. However, it was going to be awesome, and she couldn't wait. Her father had told her that he had had to leave when she had been younger, and her mother had unwillingly let her, Lily, go. She hadn't wanted to let her daughter go, but Troy could be very convincing. Troy knew this wasn't completely true, but he knew it was what he had to tell his daughter.

However, she was still annoyed with her father, and not only because he had so suddenly shipped her off to Albuquerque. Did he not want to spend time with Lily anymore? When she was little, they had played together often, and she considered him as her role model. However, now, he seemed to be trying to get away from her. He always left for one thing or another, and now that he had come back, he sent her off to a town that she couldn't even spell.

She heard the voice of the flight attendant, saying that they would be landing in a few minutes, and soon after, she heard the _thunk_ of the plane landing. The plane docked, and she got out. Looking outside the window, she noticed the thick, dark clouds overhead.

Needing to touch up her lip gloss, Lily ducked into the bathroom. She also realized that she needed to call her mother. They had talked on the phone when Troy booked the ticket, and Troy had given Lily her cell phone number.

"Hey, Mom, I'm at the airport."

"_Lily! Oh, so am I. I'm at the baggage area. I'll meet you there._"

"Kay, Mom."

Lily shut her phone.

**x**

Connie came out of the stall she was using, and she saw a girl, about her height, with hair that was the exact same color as hers, only the other girls' was pin-straight. She was standing at the sink, talking on her phone. Connie washed her hands, looking at the girl from the corner of her eye. Something about her seemed…familiar. She finished washing her hands, and dug out a lip gloss from her pocket, and started to apply it. The other girl shut her phone, and pulled out a lip gloss, too. To Connie's surprise, it was the same lip gloss she was using.

**x**

Call Lily psychotic, but this one girl was watching her. It was scaring her. This one girl next to her was about her height, and had hair that was similar to her own, only it was curly, not straight. She was washing her hands, and looking at Lily out of the corner of her eye while Lily was talking on her cell phone. When she finished, she pulled out some lip gloss. Lily, trying to not look scared, pulled out some lip gloss. She realized it was the same lip gloss the other girl was using.

**x**

Connie and Lily both turned around to look at each other. Both of their eyes widened in shock. Both of them were thinking the same thing. _Who is she, and why does she look like me?_

"Oh my goodness," both girls said, at the same exact time.

"Who are - What did - When did - Why -?" Connie stuttered.

"Holy cow, this is turning out to be like the freaking parent trap," Lily said, exasperated.

"Wait. How do you even know we're related? We could just randomly look alike you know. I mean, my hair's curly, yours is straight," Connie said sensibly.

Lily had to admit, that was a good point. "Um, when's your birthday?"

"May 9th," Connie told her. "My mom is Gabriella Montez, my dad is Troy Bolton."

Lily's mouth hung open in shock. Whether it was from the fact that the information was the same from her, or the fact that she had told who her parents were without even her asking, she didn't know.

"I'm guessing that's the same for you?" Connie asked, already knowing the answer.

Lily could only nod her head.

At this point, Connie froze with shock.

There was only one thing running through their minds.

_Holy snap. I'm a twin._

**x**

Once both of them had recovered from shock, they sat down, and talked. They found out each other's names, where they lived, and their parents.

"Do you think our parents know that they sent us to the other parent at the same time?"

"I think they planned it out. I mean, I don't know about you, but I think they wanted us to live life without ever meeting each other."

"You know what? I think you're right."

"So now what do we do?"

"What do you mean, what do we do?"

"Well, we can't just go and pretend we didn't meet each other! I mean, I want an explanation, and I think you do, too."

"How did you know that?"

"Uh…twin telepathy."

"Sure it was."

"It was."

"How do I know that?"

"Because I'm your twin."

"So?"

"Urgh, this is pointless. Look, we need to get to one of our parents, and now."

"Well, my mom, I mean, our mom, is at the airport you know. Actually, I think she came here to drop you off, then my flight came, so yeah."

"I think our parents planned that out, too."

"I hate them."

"You're not the only one."

Both girls sighed. Then, Connie spoke.

"What are we gonna tell mom?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't think I'm gonna get to visit my dad, I mean our dad today. For one thing, its raining like nobody's business, and another, I think I missed my flight, even if it is delayed."

"Right."

"So we tell mom that we found each other at the airport, and that we want an explanation?"

"Well, we could always show up and….yeah, your idea's better."

"Where did you say mom was going to meet you?"

"At the baggage cart. We should go. It was ages ago when I called her."

"Really? I'm surprised she hasn't called you back then. She always calls me every 30 minutes when I'm out. It can get so annoying."

Right on cue, Lily's cell phone rang. She answered.

"Hey mom."

"_Lily? Where are you?_"

Lily looked over at Connie, who was mouthing, "_Don't tell her about me_."

Lily looked around for an excuse. Noticing a water fountain, she said, "Um, I got thirsty and stopped for a drink. A long drink."

"_Well, okay then. As long as you're fine. I thought something happened to you. Okay, I'll meet you down at the baggage cart._"

"Okay, see you," Lily told her mom, and hung up.

Connie raised her eyebrows.

"We have to go to the baggage claim now."

"All right." Both Connie and Lily took a deep breath and stood up. "Let's go."

**x**

Gabriella Montez stood waiting near the baggage claim. She shut her cell phone, and went to read the times. _Flight 1738 to Phoenix, On time, Departed_, it read. She had worried that her flight would get delayed, or cancelled, which would have caused some problems. However, it was going well.

Gabriella sighed a breath of relief. Connie was on her way. And Lily was here. Her and Troy's plan was working. They would meet their daughters, but they wouldn't meet each other.

Gabriella wanted the both of them to meet, but honestly, they were teenagers. They would get mad at herself and Troy for not telling them. Troy and Gabriella had decided to wait until both girls were older to tell them.

And as for not finding out while they stayed at their homes, they would keep their other daughter's door shut, and locked. It wasn't the most feasible solution, but it was good enough, so they sent their daughters to each other.

After a few more minutes, Gabriella noticed a medium sized teenager coming toward her. "Lily!"

"Mom!"

"Oh, Lily, it's great to see you!" Gabriella gave her long lost daughter a hug.

"It's great to see you, too, mom," Lily told her mother, hugging.

"Yeah, mom. Awesome," spoke Connie.

Gabriella let go of Lily and looked at Connie and Lily.

"What the - you two - you know - when did you - oh my - this isn't good," Gabriella stuttered, shocked.

"Well, mom, we kinda just met. And we're smart enough to figure out that we're twins," Connie said.

The two of them knew about each other? Oh dear. Her and Troy's plan had just come crashing down. And it had hit the ground hard.

* * *

**By the way, thanks to all of you who have reviewed and/or added this story and/or me to their favorites and/or alerts. That was a lot of and/ors. Anyways, thanks to all! Review!**

**Susmita B-) :D**


	4. Explanation

**Yeah, it's about time I updated, right? The next chapter is currently being written, but for now, enjoy this one. (Also, Anchal - Don't kill me. This was written a very long time ago. Before you even admitted it, I think).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own High School Musical.**

* * *

**Worth the Ride**

**Chapter 4: Explanation**

* * *

"Oh. My. Goodness," Gabriella stared, shocked. Her mouth dropped open, and her hand flew over it.

Lily and Connie looked at each other, then back at their mother, who was trying to not hyperventilate.

Connie waited for a few more moments, letting Gabriella calm down a little, before bluntly saying, "We want an explanation."

Gabriella sighed. This moment had come sooner than she had expected. Much, much, sooner.

**x**

Gabriella drove the girls home, and sat down on the couch, still somewhat dazed.

"Well?"

"Look, girls. I'll explain everything. But I need to call your father first. He'll be wondering where you are, Connie. Why don't you go upstairs to your room?"

Rolling her eyes at Gabriella, Connie stood up, and flounced upstairs. Lily glanced at her mother, biting her lip. Then, she turned around, and started following her sister.

Gabriella sighed. She didn't want to be the one who called Troy, but right now it seemed inevitable. She picked up the phone, and went to her contacts, until she reached the one that said, _Troy Cell_. After all those years, she still hadn't deleted it. She pressed the call button, and hoped for the best.

"Hey Troy."

"_Gabriella?_"

Gabriella lowered her eyebrows. Troy's voice sounded raspy, and sore, like he was sick.

"Troy? Are you sick? Your voice sounds terrible."

"_Yeah, I am."_

"What?! What do you mean, you're sick?! You were supposed to pick up Connie!"

"_I know. Relax Gabriella, I sent Chad to get her_."

"Chad?" Gabriella replied incredulously. "Are you nuts? He's never seen the girl before in his life!"

"_Well, Connie looks just like Lily, and he's known Lils forever._"

"Well it doesn't matter anyways. Because Connie's not coming."

"_What? Gabriella, this isn't fair. I know you don't trust me all that much, but I've looked after Lily for thirteen years, you know. And she hasn't turned out half bad. I can take care of Connie for a week_."

"No, it's not that, I trust you Troy. But Lily and Connie somehow….bumped into each other. And they want me to explain things to them."

"_And you're going to_?"

"I don't have much of a choice."

"_What about Connie's bags?_"

"They're completely black, and have pink tags with her name. They're not that hard to miss."

"_I'll tell Chad_."

"No, your voice is horrible. I'll call him."

"_Thanks, Gabriella."_

"Not at all. And Troy? I'm sorry. She'll come and visit you this summer. I promise."

Troy nodded solemnly, even though she couldn't see.

"_All right. Talk to you later_."

"Bye. See you."

**x**

Gabriella walked up to her daughter's room, and found her twin daughters talking. She was about to walk in, when she decided to stay and listen to what they were talking.

"So, do you have a boyfriend?" Connie was asking.

"Yeah. He's awesome."

"What's his name?"

"Alex. Well, technically, his name is Mark Alexander, but he goes by his middle name. Well, his middle name is Alexander, but everyone calls him Alex."

"Oh, that's awesome."

"Yeah. He's really cute, too. His hair is black. It used to be long and hang over his eyes, but he cut it. Now its short, but it has these little spike things on the front. He got highlights, too."

"Seriously? Connor, you know, my boyfriend got light brown highlights. They look awesome. What color did Alex get?"

"Dark brown. He was gonna get red, but his mom wouldn't let him."

"That would have been awesome. I would get red highlights, but you, know, my mom wouldn't let me."

She said the last part louder than necessary, letting her mother know that she knew she was out there.

Gabriella sighed, and walked in.

"Look girls, I'm sorry."

Connie rolled her eyes, while Lily waited patiently.

"Do you want to know the whole story? From the very beginning?"

"Kind of."

"Then this might be a while. Let's go downstairs."

She got up, and the girls followed. Once they were seated comfortably, she started.

"We met at a ski lodge, but I left once we got each other's phone numbers. Like fate, my mom's company transferred her again, and we went to Albuquerque, where Troy, your father lived. We met in high school, and well, we…fell in love. We went to college together."

"Oxford," Lily said.

"How do you know that?" Connie asked in amazement.

"My middle name is Oxford."

Connie looked at her mother in disbelief. "Oxford?"

Gabriella ignored the comment. "We got married, as you know, and had two twin daughters." Gabriella sighed. "Then everything started changing. Your father started with basketball, but he loved writing. He auditioned for the Arizona basketball team, and he got in. But I…I didn't want to move. Girls, I'm sorry. I was young…..and angry. But I knew that Troy would miss you girls like anything. So…I had to let one of you go. It was terrible, losing one of my daughters, I really didn't want to. But you have to do what you have to do."

"Um, mom. We were wondering…were you ever gonna tell us?"

"Of course. Your father and I were thinking of telling you when you were 18, maybe 21. We figured that you would be able to handle it better then."

Connie and Lily looked at their mother. She looked worn out, and tired, and downright sad. In fact, she looked as though she were about to cry. The twins looked at each other.

"I need to call your father, girls. Go upstairs."

They obeyed their mother, and ran up.

**x**

Gabriella took a deep breath. She was never one to cry, so she blinked several times to keep the tears away, and picked up the phone.

Realizing that she forgot to call Chad, she dialed his number first.

"_Hello?_"

"Hey Chad. It's………Gabriella."

Chad didn't answer for a few seconds.

"_H - Hi, Gabriella_."

"Er…look. You know how Connie was supposed to be coming there? Um, well, she's not."

"_Does Troy know?"_

"Yeah. Can you still pick up her bags though? She'll come and visit later in the summer."

"_Okay_."

"Thanks, Chad. They're black, but they have a bright pink tag on them. They're not that hard to see."

"_No problem. It was nice talking to you again, Gabs."_

"You, too, Chad."

Smiling, Gabriella put down the phone. Now, it was time to call Troy. She sighed. It was dark outside. The girls needed time to absorb the information. _I'll call him in the morning,_ she thought. And with that, she headed upstairs.

* * *

**Meow. If you read the Warriors series, I have a couple ideas for it, so expect them sometime this year. Anyways, please review!**

**Susmita B-) :D**


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